Ch. 19
Carlos leaned closer to Mal's neck while the wind whipped past them as they flew just over the tree tops in her dragon form. It was too far to walk from the river all the way back up to the mines and Carlos' battered and bruised body protested angrily whenever he stood upright for more then a few minutes. Mal sent out a jet of bright flame from her mouth, lighting up the area around them and Carlos pointed down at the path tha headed up the mountain. It was so dark now that Mal was having a hard time keeping high enough to not catch herself on the pointy Pine trees while also keeping the path in view and not break a wing on the side of the jagged, rocky mountain. She wasn't even going to think about the fact that this was her fifth transformation in one day and she'd already flown countless more miles then she ever had before. Mal adjusted her flight path to follow where Carlos guided, her fire giving them both a quick look before plunging them back into the night.
"What was that?" Doug asked suddenly, stopping both his story and their walking.
Jay lifted his head, which had been hanging wearily down between his shoulders. "What was what?"
"That burst of light in the sky," Doug replied.
"Like a firework or flare or something?" Jay asked.
"More like a fireball, like when a flame suddenly erupts, but it's gone now," Doug said, still searching the sky as they continued to walk.
It was silent for several minutes, and Jay had started to zone out again, the pain now making hi slightly nauseous. His head snapped up when Doug called out again however, the sight clearly visable in the dark sky. A burst of red and orage, only for a heartbeat or two but there nonetheless. Jay hesitated to take another step, not sure he was up for whatever sick twist this quest was about to throw at them now.
"Maybe Ben's sent a search party?" Doug hazard a guess.
"We've only been gone for two days, and if he has then something pretty bad must have happened," Jay replied tersely.
"At least if it is a search party we'll have more people to help look for Carlos," Doug said, the ever optimist. Jay couldn't fault Doug's enthusiasm though he didn't look forward to telling Ben that their friend was missing, along with all the artifacts he'd been carrying.
As they continued down the path, the same ball of fire was seen every few minutes, gradually getting closer. Doug shot him a hopeful grin, tightening his arm around Jay's shoulders and trying to take as much weight from him as possible.
Carlos kept carefully watching the trail whenever Mal lit up the area, hoping he could spot the right mine entrance. He hadn't been giving much of anything his attention other then getting back to Jay, until Mal faltered and their altitude dropped. Mal quickly beat her tired and sore wings until they were back into position, snorting dismissively as Carlos patted her neck and asked if she was okay. Mal bared her teeth and shot out another stream of fire, cocking her head as she noticed movement below her. Tilting to the side, Mal swooped closer to the trail, feeling her wing beats graze the mountain side. Carlos bit back a yelp of surprise at the sudden movement but his eyes snapped open quickly as Mal hovered and started grumbling and hissing at him. The reason became quite obvious as Doug and Jay stumbled down the path towards them, waving and calling out excitedly.
"Jay! Doug!" Carlos called, hurriedly sliding from Mal's back and rushing to greet them.
"Dude, you're still alive!" Jay exclaimed, a relieved smile crossing his face as he wrapped his free arm around Carlos.
"Yeah, thanks to Mal, actually considering how pissed she is at us for leaving her behind I'm surprised she didn't finish me off," Carlos joked, earning a snap of teeth and eye roll from said girl.
"Well Mal being here is even better then a rescue party. We can make it back in half the time now," Doug said.
"There is no way I'm carrying you all back to Auradon. It was hard enough with Carlos and he doesn't weight anything. Besides this is the most flying I've done, ever and I'm beat," Mal said, transforming back into her human form for a rest.
"But I'm not sure we can make it down the rest of the mountain like this, Jay really hurt his leg when we tried getting him out," Doug admitted.
Mal and Carlos' attention zeroed in on Jay, who tried to stand up straighter under their careful scrutiny.
"Doug, sit him down and let me have a look," Mal instructed.
Doug quickly complied and moved aside as Mal crouched down in front of Jay.
"Jay I'm gonna need to move your pant leg to take a look, okay?" Mal asked, hands hovering at the ankle hem.
"It's not that bad Mal, probably just a sprain. It can wait 'til we get back," Jay said, his non-chalant attitude falling on deaf ears.
Mal raised and eyebrow. "So you're good to walk all the way down the mountain without using Doug as a crutch then? Come on, I want to see you stand on both you're feet then."
Jay's eyes dropped at the challenge, he knew he couldn't put any weight on his leg and the mere thought caused his stomach to roll.
"Jay, let Mal check it out. You remember how good she was a patching us up back on the Isle?" Carlos added, squeezing Jay's hand that had a death grip on his shoulder.
"Fine, go ahead Mal. Of course you remember that better then anyone else Carlos, since it was usually you she was patching up," Jay replied, his breath stuttering out as he tilted his head back against the rock he was propped up on.
Mal and Carlos exchanged worried looks as the girl carefully pushed Jay's pant leg up. She couldn't see his foot or ankle but the slight hiss in response to her prodding let her know it was painful. The shin looked fine, but the calf was definietely bruised and tender to the touch.
"I can't get the pant leg up any higher Jay, so let me know if this hurts," Mal said, cupping Jay's knee.
Jay lurched forward suddenly with a strangled scream, hunching protectively over his leg as Mal quickly scambled back. Carlos hurried forward, muttering soothing words and rubbing Jay's back as his friend kept his eyes tightly shut, drawing in ragged breaths.
"Okay, that was clearly a yes, and no more touching Jay's leg, got it," Mal muttered.
For Evil's sake, this was as close to bawling over something Jay had ever been, and he couldn't stop the few pained tears that coursed down his cheeks. He'd had enough sprains and minor injuries to know this was much worse, probably broken if he had to hazard a guess. Jay understood now why Carlos had been such an emotional wreck a few summers earlier when he'd fallen out of a second story window and broken his arm. The poor kid hadn't stopped crying until they'd managed to get to Yen Sid and the man was able to bind and brace the arm. Jay shuddered as waves of pain radiated up and down his leg, as well as a very strong and sharp stabbing sensation that was centered directly on his knee.
"It's okay Jay, we won't touch it again. The pain will stop soon I promise. We'll get you back to Auradon and they'll fix you up. You're gonna be okay," Carlos murmured gently, one arm wrapped around Jay's shoulders holding him close while his other hand cradled Jay's face and brushed the tears away.
"We need to get Jay back to Auradon Prep, the doctors there can help him," Doug said, giving Mal a pointed look.
Mal sighed. "Even if I wanted to, I'd never make it. Believe it or not but turning into a dragon half a dozen times and flying around for half the day takes a lot of energy."
Doug's eyes brightened. "Then how about to the limo? It's just at the end of the path that meets up with the main road throught the forest."
"Fine, but I wasn't kidding when I said I'm beat, we may end up crashing somewhere in the forest along the way," Mal grudgingly agreed, glancing from Doug's eager espression to Carlos' tense, anxious one where he sat cradling a haggard looking Jay.
"I'd never in my wildest dreams thought I'd someday get to ride on a dragon," Doug enthused excitedly as Mal transformed once again.
"Take it easy Doug, it is Mal we're talking about. You piss her off and she'll snap you in two, Evie's boyfriend or not," Carlos cautioned, as he and Doug carefully manuevered Jay upright again.
Jay barely managed to supress a moan as after Doug climbed onto Mal's back, Carlos helped him settled behind their friend and got on too. Mal shifted her weight, trying to get used to the extra passengers before launching herself off the narrow ledge, causing both Doug and Jay to yelp in surprise. Doug fell forward, clutching one of the small spikes around Mal's neck, while Jay nearly toppled backwards into Carlos, causing him to grip Jay around the waist so they wouldn't both slide off.
Mal grumbled and craned her neck around to nash her sharp teeth just by Doug's foot. Doug quickly hiked his foot up out of the way not sure what he'd done in the last ten seconds to irritate her.
"She wants to know where to go. When she sends out a flame take a quick look and tell her which direction to head," Carlos explained.
Mal did just that and Doug looked down, pointing in the distance to a small set of lights in the distance. "That's Snow White Village ahead, the road should be right between us and that. If you can get a bit higher I might be able to see it."
Mal huffed in response but pointed her nose upwards as she beat her wings harder trying to get higher. It felt like her wings and body weighed two tons and she wasn't sure how much altitude she'd actually gained until she shot off another stream of flames and Doug happily patted her neck, pointing down and towards her right. With a growl, Mal tipped her right wing and began a quick downward descent, aiming for where she'd been able to make out a patch of road. Once she'd reached the trees lining the edges of the road Mal skimmed them until Doug once again pointed animatedly down, seeing the black limo still parked where they'd left it. Landing with far less grace then before, Mal waited until her passengers managed to fumble their way off before transforming back and promptly sinking down onto the asphalt in exhausion.
"Mal that was awesome, you did great!" Doug gushed, kneeling down beside the girl and offering her a hand up. Mal took the hand greatfully, feeling her knees wobble as Doug guided her to the passenger seat of the limo.
"Wait, who's driving? I can't and there's no way Jay can with his leg like that," Mal asked as she slid into the leather seat.
"I am," Doug answered, getting a skeptical look from Mal. "Actually I am quite skilled at driving, since my dad and uncles are all too short to reach the peddles or see over the steering wheels of most cars I learned at a very young age.
A short laugh came from Jay, as Carlos helped him settle into the back of the limo. "Believe me Mal, do not get him started. Just take his word for it."
Mal rolled her eyes and reclined her seat. "Wake me up when you need a break, if I can catch a quick nap I should be able to switch with you in an hour or so."